Iraqi Turkmen

The Iraqi Turkmen are a Turkic ethnic group that form the third-largest ethnic group in Iraq. The last reliable census, 1957, stated that there were 567,000 Turkmen (9% of the population) in Iraq, while some current reports state that there can be over 3,000,000 in the country today. Descended from the Turks that migrated into the Middle East in the 11th century, the Turkmen are almost all Sunni Muslims, with a Shia minority also being present. Most Turkmen live in northern Iraq, especially in Tal Afar, Mosul, Arbil, Altunkupri, Kirkuk, and the capital city of Baghdad.